French Army gets upgraded Jaguar with new anti-tank missile

The French Army has received its first Jaguar armored vehicles built to the R3 standard, the fully operational configuration for the reconnaissance and combat vehicle, KNDS France said. Twenty-one vehicles had reached French forces as of Sept. 4, following deliveries that began this summer.

France’s defense procurement agency, the DGA, qualified the R3 standard on April 8, and the French Army approved its use on July 20, before the first vehicles arrived at units.

The Jaguar is a six-wheeled, 25-tonne armored vehicle built under the French Army’s SCORPION modernization program to replace the AMX-10RC and other older reconnaissance vehicles. It carries a 40 mm cannon and, on the R3 standard, full integration of the Akeron MP medium-range anti-tank missile, made by MBDA. The missile can hit targets up to 4 km away and penetrate more than 1,000 mm of armor with its tandem warhead, according to manufacturer specifications.

KNDS France, Arquus and Thales jointly design, build and support the Jaguar under a temporary industrial partnership. Final assembly takes place at KNDS France’s plant in Roanne. Safran supplies the vehicle’s optical and sighting systems, CTA International makes the 40 mm cannon, and MBDA supplies the Akeron MP.

Jaguar vehicles already in service will not be replaced. Instead, KNDS France is retrofitting them to the R3 standard under a campaign due to finish by the end of 2027.

France has ordered 300 Jaguar vehicles to equip seven armored cavalry regiments, with deliveries planned through 2030 and the full fleet in place by 2035. The Jaguar first entered service in 2022, when an earlier standard allowed mobile firing from its digital turret; the 1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment became the first unit to field it, deploying a platoon of six vehicles to Estonia in 2024 as part of a NATO mission.

The SCORPION program overall is valued at roughly €11 billion ($12.65 billion), with about €2 billion ($2.3 billion) earmarked for the Jaguar’s 300 vehicles. The Jaguar’s unit cost, initially targeted at €3 million ($3.45 million), has since risen to around €6 million ($6.9 million).

KNDS France did not say how many more R3-standard vehicles are due to reach units this year or give a date for the retrofit of the rest of the existing fleet beyond the 2027 deadline

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